Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - can detect and remove malware that even the most well known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to detect Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista (32 and 64-bit) - DaChew

Vista Firewall Control 32 bit Version - the outbound filter in Windows Vista is, in essence, turned off by default. And as a practical matter, it's impossible to manually configure it to block malware making outbound connections. That's where the free Vista Firewall Control comes in Compatibility: Windows Vista - Adamsappleone

Core Control - a full featured advanced security program, designed for Windows 95/98/ME - acklan

DeleteOnClick - completely deletes files in one click rather than sending the file to the recycle bin. The data becomes unrecoverable. For this reason you must use this program carefully. - Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista - leeanne172

Rohos Mini Drive - creates hidden and encrypted partition on the USB flash drive memory. You work with the files on the hidden partition without opening a special program Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista - Newb4Life

AxCrypt - a powerful, yet extremely easy to use file encryption program. It integrates directly with Windows Explorer, enabling encryption, decryption, viewing and editing of any file with just a few clicks of the mouse. - Compatibility: Windows (All)

Cryptainer LE - A really simple to use encryption tool that creates an invisible, password protected folder on your hard drive or other media. Free version limited to 25MB. "Cryptainer LE's encryption works with all 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows (95/98/ME/2000/XP/2003 Server) and with all known file types." - Compatibility: Windows (all 32 bit versions) - Rimmer

PowerCrypt - a powerful file encoder. Make sure your files are protected with a 100% secure encryption algorithm, which is not resolveable by NSA nor CIA. - Compatibility: Windows (All)

True Crypt - disk encryption software for Windows XP/2000/2003 and Linux. A, more powerful version of Cryptainer. As a user of both, I recommend TrueCrypt over Cryptainer by a long shot. No stupid limits on how big you can have the drive, as well, so you could encrypt your whole drive if you wanted to. - Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Linux - ØÇë¦òT

Disk Cleaner - a tool to quickly and easily clean your hard disk from temporary files like those in the system temporary folder, the Internet Explorer Cache and Cookies folder, and the Recycle Bin Compatibility: all Windows versions/platforms - henceforth

Drive Manager - has been written to help you easily identify drives which are of the same type. - fleamailman

DShutdown- a stand-alone program that allows you to easily shutdown and wake up local or remote PCs, with many specific options. - Compatibility: Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP/Vista - acklan

DTaskManager - a Task-Manager, but specifically engineered to give additional functionalities that the Windows bundled TaskManager (and other third party products) do not have. - Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista - scratcher

GParted - an industrial-strength package for creating, destroying, resizing, moving, checking and copying partitions, and the filesystems on them. This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, reorganizing disk usage, copying data residing on hard disks and mirroring one partition with another (disk imaging). - Gnome - fozzie

JkDefragGUI - a Graphical User Interface which allows you to easily select all the features of JkDefrag Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/2008, U3 capable flash memory and with BartPE pre-installed environment - Yourhighness

Send To Toys - an enhancement of the Send To system menu. Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista - Yourhighness

Smart Defrag - has two defrag modes: express and comprehensive. Can also run automatically in the background to constantly keep your drive defragged. Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, and Windows 7 - Budapest

StartUpLite - a lightweight and simple to use application that allows you to speed up your system startup, safely and efficiently. The program allows you to disable or remove unnecessary startup entries from your computer. Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista - DaChew

Double Driver - you can view which drivers are installed in your system and you can backup the drivers you choose, save and print the drivers list, and more. - Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP - Yourhighness

EVEREST Home Edition - a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users. Similar to Belarc, but much more comprehensive. - Compatibility: Windows (All) - Herk

Cobian Backup - a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. - usasma

Delete Doctor - Delete files that are difficult to delete, such as some files left by viruses and trojans, or files with corrupted file names.

Folder Guide - a handy utility that provides fast access to your frequently used and favorite folders. It can operate as the part of your context menu in your Windows Explorer. Compatibility: Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 - Yourhighness

WinMerge - a visual text file differencing and merging tool for Win32 platforms. It is highly useful for determining what has changed between project versions, and then merging changes between versions. - Walkman

Clipboard Buddy - a clipboard cache program that remembers what was copied to the clipboard even after new data is copied, and allows you to retrieve the old data. - rowal5555

Convert - an easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions. - Ronbo

Evernote - allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere - skyfuser

Fass - a forum post editor & automated post generator. It also has a "Post Preview" feature, which shows your post as it will appear on forums. Designed for use with Invision Power Board, compatible with most forum software.

Launchy - indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes. - nosnhoj#3

LogMeIn Hamachi - a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there's an Internet connection - nigglesnush85

Magical Jellybean Keyfinder - a utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry. It has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping. - Herk

Multi Install - an advanced cd/dvd menu authoring system for your own creations. A "Multi Installer" is an install program that can install multiple programs from the same menu. Compatibility: 32-bit Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP - Yourhighness

Safarp - a small and fast alternative to the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel applet of Windows 2000/XP. Among other things, it displays a list of the installed programs, and allows one to uninstall / repair them. - scratcher

Sandboxie - runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Server 2003 - thcbytes

Start++ - an enhancement for the Start Menu in Windows Vista. It also extends the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands. For example, typing "w Windows Vista" will take you to the Windows Vista page on Wikipedia. - nosnhoj#3

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! - allows you to Repair and Customize the Quick Launch, Taskbar and Notification Area in Windows XP. - Ronbo

Tidy Start Menu - allows you to arrange all the shortcuts in the Start Menu. Your Start Menu looks neat, and you can easily and quickly find any program you want. - rowal5555

Total Uninstall - can help you to monitor any changes that were made to your system during installation of a new software product and allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely on the supplied uninstall program (which may leave files or changes behind).(last freeware version) - usasma

TweakVI - was designed for easy tweaking an optimizing a Windows Vista based computer. - nosnhoj#3

TweakUI - This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more. - Ronbo

Uninstall Tool - (Last Free Version) a small and fast utility that helps you to uninstall various software. It can be used instead of the standard unconvenient and heavy "Add and Remove Programs". - mommabear

WizMouse - a mouse enhancement utility that makes your mouse wheel work on the window currently under the mouse pointer, instead of the currently focused window. This means you no longer have to click on a window before being able to scroll it with the mouse wheel Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 - Leech

Fiddler - a HTTP Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. - usasma

Netstat Live - a small, easy to use TCP/IP protocol monitor which can be used to see your exact throughput on both incoming and outgoing data - whether you're using a modem, cable modem, DSL, or even local network. Will also graph the CPU usage of your system. - Herk

No-IP - Use to map a static or dynamic IP address, or long URL, to an easy to remember subdomain, such as yourname.no-ip.com. - turbines

CookieWall - allows you to quickly and easily decide which cookies can stay on your system, and which cookies should go - once you let CookieWall know which ones are unwelcome, it does the rest. (Internet Explorer only) - Jacee

McAfee SiteAdvisor - (for IE and Firefox) installs a small button that changes colors as you browse the Web based on the results of their safety tests. You can also click on the button's menu to see the site's detailed test results. - nosnhoj#3

Netcraft Toolbar - Anti-phishing toolbar. It works well with Firefox in Vista - and with one minor glitch (in the updater) with IE7 in Vista (I just close the updater and it runs just fine). - usasma

HTTrack - allows you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images, and other files from the server to your computer. - nosnhoj#3

Oubliette - password database, and generator, that stores a list of accounts with information such as account name, associated password, URL, and free-form notes. Oubliette offers a number of ways to transfer account names and passwords to the browser: via the clipboard, through drag-and-drop, or by automated form filling.

Password Corral - password generator, and organizer, with several additional features - Yourhighness

Password Safe - a tool that allows you to have a different password for all the different programs and websites that you deal with, without actually having to remember all those usernames and passwords - Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP - saint satin stain

Password Scrambler - a browser add-on that allows you to automatically generate secure, hard-to-guess passwords for every site you visit, based on a master password of your choice. - Jacee

Aspell - can either be used as a library or as an independent spell checker. - Ross Zip

IESpell - A spelling checker for Internet Explorer. Works like the spell checker in M$ Office, right click and select Check Spelling. - Ronbo

Magical Jellybean Dictionary - a freeware dictionary client for Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP, that connects to a dictionary server, and retrieves the definition from a database on the server. - Herk

tinySpell - easily and quickly check the spelling of words in any Windows application. Monitors your typing on the fly, and alerts you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It also checks the spelling of every word you copy to the clipboard. - Wink

Word Web - a comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary, that can be used to look up words from within most programs. - tg1911

Email Clients & Tools

ePrompter - automatically and simultaneously checks and retrieves your e-mail messages from up to 16 password-protected e-mail accounts. It not only lets you compose, forward, and reply to your retrieved messages, but also gives you the ability to delete unwanted spam or suspicious-looking mail without having to launch your e-mail program or having to go to your Web mail's site. - nosnhoj#3

Eudora - Free mail client but is ad sponsored. ( Eudora has a lite version available... just download the current version, and if you can live without the spellchecker, you dont have to live with the ad screen, being there. Go to the help menu, after installing, and select "payment and registration". Then select "lite mode", and it will ask if you can live without all of the extras, just click on "reduce features") - rexifelis

FreePOPs - can be used to download mail from the most famous webmails, but it could also be used as an aggregator for RSS feeds and much more. This way it is possible to get all your messages in your favorite email client. - acklan

Spell Checker For OE - a way to add a spell checker to OutLook Express without having to have MS Office installed. - acklan

StripMail - Strips the characters ">" and "|" from forwarded e-mails, formats the text into paragraphs, making it easier to read, changes the text's right margin, by indenting, and can be used with any e-mail client.

Rainlendar - Desktop calender for Windows, that's skinnable and able to synchronize with M$ Outlook's calender so you may see what your appointments are, without opening Outlook. - Ronbo

RoughDraft - word processor for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for creative writing: novels, short stories, articles, plays and screenplays - saint satin stain

Wink - A presentation program designed to make tutorials on how to use software. Can export these tutorials in Flash, EXE, and HTML.

ZoomIt - a screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. Compatibility: Windows XP and higher, Windows Server 2003 and higher. - Yourhighness

winLAME - an encoder for several audio formats, including mp3 (MPEG Layer 3), Ogg Vorbis and more. winLAME lets you set up the encoding process with an easy-to-use wizard-style user interface. - nosnhoj#3

AviSynth - a scripting language and a collection of filters for simple (and not so simple!) non-linear video editing tasks. It frameserves video to applications - skyfuser

DScaler - a piece of software that captures video, processes it, and scales it for presentation on a projector or computer monitor. - turbines

DVD Flick - a simple but powerful DVD Authoring tool. It can take a number of video files stored on your computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. You can add additional custom audio tracks as well as subtitles of your choice. - Yourhighness

Media Player Classic - The application has the same look and feel as the old light-weight Windows Media Player 6.4, but is a completely different application which has all the options and features one might expect from a modern media player. (Media Player Classic comes bundled with Real Alternative, so if you'd like both, just get RA) - WhyBeNormal

QuickTime Alternative - will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt and other extensions) without having to install the official QuickTime Player. It also supports QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.

Real Alternative - designed for playing RealMedia files, which normally require Real Player - WhyBeNormal

Mobile Photo Enhancer - a program that's perfect for anyone who takes pics with a cellphone and needs to clean them up a bit. Also, it's very simple to use for the tech challenged. - frankp316

Paint.NET - image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. - nosnhoj#3

Xnview - you can quickly and easily view, process and convert image files. Will read more than 400 graphic file formats, and write to about 50. Will also display video formats. Also offers more advanced features such as Web page creation, contact prints, multiple conversion (format and transformation), slide shows, screen capturing and Twain support for scanners and digital cameras. - Herk

Screen Capture Applications

Capture - a screen capture utility for Windows (and NT), which allows you to capture the active window, or the entire screen, at any color depth and resolution, and save it into a Bitmap file for editing. - Herk

Gadwin Print Screen - an easy to use utility, that allows you to capture any portion of the screen, save it to a file, copy it to Windows clipboard, print it or e-mail it to a recipient of your choice. - cybormoron

BwgBurn - a Windows XP .NET 2.0 application that can be used to burn CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD+R DL/BD-RE. It includes the ability to burn both data disk, audio disk and video disk (include VCD and DVDs) - twardnw

Deep Burner - "A CD/DVD burning software that lets you create Data Cds, Bootable CDs, and Audio CDs as well as data DVDs. In addition, it lets you burn ISO files, and create ISO images. Also lets you design an auto start menu to launch documents or programs from the CD" - tg911

DeepRipper - can convert music files from AudioCDs into practically any format you'd like, including: MP3, WAV, OGG, and others.

ImgBurn - a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application. Compatibility: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP/Vista (32 and 64 bit/If you use Wine, it should also run on Linux and other x86-based Unixes. - DaChew

InfraRecorder - CD/DVD burning software that will create data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images. Will also burn dual-layer DVDs, and image files. - Yourhighness

ISO Recorder - a tool (power toy) for Windows XP, 2003 and now Windows Vista, that allows (depending on the Windows version) to burn CD and DVD images (DVD support is only available on Windows Vista), copy disks, make images of the existing data CDs and DVDs and create ISO images from a content of a disk folder. - usasma

BootSkin - "These two are the full version and never expire, but are unsupported by the company. The bootskin will not work on every computer, from their literature; "Some drivers and bios makers "break the rules" which can cause BootSkin to not work correctly. If you experience that, you can try these alternative versions:" Unfortunately my HP was one of the ones that broke the rules so I don't know how this one works, but I can vouch for the rest." Information contributed by Ronbo

Dexpot - creates and manages virtual desktops and enables you to work far more efficiently and comfortably with many simultaneously opened windows. Compatibility: Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista (incl. x64) - Yourhighness

exalead one:desktop - a desktop search utility that's fast, intuitive, and you don't have to have it running all the time for it to be effective - saint satin stain

FlyakiteOSX - a transformation pack that will transform the look of a Windows XP system, to resemble the look of Mac OSX - Ross Zip

Iconoid - Iconoid is a small program that helps reduce the clutter and confusion of the Windows desktop. - tg911

Picture and Sound Show - a 32-bit screen saver for Windows that enables you to create your own slide shows from pictures and sounds on your computer. - Floydoid

RocketDock - a simple Dock program that you can place at the top, bottom, or sides of your screen, and that gives you quick access to your favorite programs and features Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista - craneop

Virtual Desktop Manager - Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy. Compatibility: Windows XP only - Yourhighness

Netdrive - integrates your Website as a drive into your Windows Explorer, so you can easily copy and paste all sorts of files, straight to your website. Only supports Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. - Yourhighness

Nvu - a complete Web Authoring System for Linux desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver - saint satin stain

Picture-Shark - a tool to add logo watermarks to your pictures in order to brand them or display copyright information. A stamp can be any GIF, JPEG or BMP image and it can be positioned anywhere on the image and previewed from the interface. You can also specify a transparency level, in order to blend the watermark with the image.

Porta - allows you to create attractive image galleries from your digital photos in just a few easy steps.

NetBeans IDE - all the tools you need to create professional desktop, enterprise, web, and mobile applications with the Java language, C/C++, and even dynamic languages such as PHP, JavaScript, Groovy, and Ruby Compatibility: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris - nigglesnush85

DS Clock - a digital desktop clock that displays variable date and time information built from the format string - saint satin stain

ForecastFox - (Firefox extension)This great little extension allows you to set it up so you can always view your local forecast in your Firefox Browser itself. The forecasts come straight from the Weather Channel's website. - tg911

Forecastfox Enhanced - (Firefox extension) Enhanced version of the popular Forecastfox extension that adds 12 improved radar images and the ability to supply an URL for your own radar image.

Neutron - simple and small time synchronizing program that retrieves the accurate time from one of several specialized time servers on the Internet. - turbines

WebTime2000 - WebTime 2000 is a small utility program that will synchronize your PC's internal clock with one of the several atomic clocks maintained by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology.